Hi Tweets,
I wish I could report that one of my nemesis birds from my last post had
been vanquished. Alas, I did not stumble on to a Ruffed Grouse or come away
with incontrovertible evidence that the Haines Wharf Gull is a Lesser
Black-Backed. Instead my I found my yard nemesis bird.

Ever since I found out that Turkey Vultures migrate in good numbers in
September I've kept my eye pointed to the sky when I have a moment. While I
have seen some birds up there, they've been limited to the large loose
groups of American Robbins, perhaps the occasional Band-Tailed Pigeon, or
perhaps a flock of Cedar Waxwings. I spent a little time this week outside
looking, but figured I probably missed my window yet again. The weather
this afternoon looked like what migrating raptors probably dream about so I
made one last attempt and set out my lawn chair with the best possible view
from east to west, which is still pretty limited. The first fifteen minutes
were pretty dead, but I almost couldn't believe my eyes when a small spec
came cruising to my east. I quickly got my bins on it an confirmed it was
indeed, to my delight, a Turkey Vulture.

Now, I know we've all had that experience where we finally see a nemesis
bird and suddenly they're everywhere, but I've never had it happen quite so
quickly. I stood up and moved to better vantage point to watch what might
be the only Turkey Vulture I might ever see from this home only to see that
the bird I'd spotted was actually trailing a group of birds which I quickly
confirmed were also Turkey Vultures, 9 in all. Less than ten minutes later
another solo TV flew by to my west. The grand finale was a loose group of
four TV's the flew directly over the house for a total of fourteen birds.

Quite a nice way to add a new yard bird to the list.

Josh Adams
Lynnwood, WA
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